Tower modeling questions

In modeling a direct steam tower system, I am trying to determine if the following is possible:

1. Model a reciever that is a rectangulare geometry (cube-like) rather than cylindrical
2. Use actual ground-based weather data on a more frequent update than 1 hour (I see that available for troughs, but not towers)
3. Tripouts and recovery cycle for weather interruptiosn (i.e., if the system trips out, it takes a subset of the startup case, but potentially still significant time, to bring back on line)

Thanks
Chuck

Dear Chuck,

1) For now, SAM cannot model a receiver with rectangular geometry.

2) In the new version of SAM (currently in Beta test, planned release in mid-November) it is possible to run all of the CSP models with subhourly data. However, the models are steady state models, so running them at relatively small time steps (on the order of minutes) will not represent the true behavior of the system. For example, a very brief disruption of DNI at a one minute time step would cause the receiver to shut off in a steady state model like SAM, while in a transient model the receiver would most likely remain online.

3) No, SAM's CSP models do not calculate start-up energy after weather interruptions. We may add this to a future version of SAM as a modification of the current morning start-up energy calculations.

Best regards,
Paul.